Chapter 633 620: Tear

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

Paimon remained where she was for a moment, her gauntleted fist still clenched at her side.

Fifty-five seconds.

Mikoto had said it so casually, as though he had asked her to fetch something from the other side of the clearing rather than confront a charging horde of Deseruit Beasts. The fact that he had given her a time limit at all was irritating enough. The fact that he had already started counting down made it worse.

But she had insisted that she wanted to help, knowing perfectly well that the journey ahead would involve dangers she could not simply pray away.

Now he was giving her an opportunity to prove that choice meant something.

Paimon drew a slow breath.

Her shoulders rose, then gradually settled as she let the air out. She flexed her fingers inside her gauntlets. The approaching horde was no longer distant. The ground trembled beneath their pounding feet, and the dust rolling ahead of them had begun to drift across the grass.

She could see their shapes more clearly now.

Large bodies and rough silhouettes. Claws, horns, jaws, and limbs that did not all seem to follow the same natural pattern. Some were low to the ground, built like enormous predators. Others were taller, their heavy frames carried on thick legs, with strange protrusions jutting from their backs and shoulders. They were not a uniform species, at least not in any ordinary sense.

Yet they were moving together.

Paimon swallowed, then lifted her chin.

She did not need to convince herself that she was unafraid. That would have been a lie. There was a difference between being willing to fight and feeling no fear at all, and she had no intention of pretending the former required the latter.

She simply needed to move, so she began walking towards the horde.

Her boots pressed into the grass, one after another, carrying her away from the shelter of the yellow trees and towards the open ground. She kept her gaze on the Deseruit Beasts.

Behind her, Mikoto remained where he was.

Paimon could feel his attention on her, though she resisted the urge to glance back. She already knew what she would see: that small, beautiful figure in black plate armor, standing with the same irritated expression he had worn throughout their journey.

He was watching to see what she would do, and she intended to give him an answer.

Her pace increased.

A walk became a brisk stride. Then a run.

Paimon leaned forward, her arms moving in rhythm with her legs as she accelerated across the grass. The ground rushed beneath her feet. Her cloak snapped behind her, and the distance between herself and the charging Deseruit Beasts began to close far more quickly than an ordinary person could have managed.

The horde continued its advance.

One of the beasts at the front lowered its head. Its broad shoulders rolled beneath a hide marked by ridges and dark plates. Its jaws opened, revealing rows of teeth as it gathered itself for a charge.

Paimon did not slow as she drove her foot into the ground.

The impact tore through the turf.

Earth and grass burst outward beneath her boot as an immense force surged through her body. Her running stride became an explosive launch that sent her hurtling forward across the plain. The ground broke in a ragged line behind her, and the air cracked around her as she shot towards the horde.

In an instant, the distance was gone; the leading beast barely had time to react.

Its head swung towards her, jaws opening wider as it lunged. Paimon dropped her center of gravity and veered sharply to the side. The beast's teeth snapped shut where she had been a heartbeat earlier, close enough that the rush of air brushed against her cloak.

She slid beneath the arc of its follow-up swipe.

A massive forelimb swept across the space above her, claws cutting through the dust. Paimon planted one hand against the ground, pivoted around it, and drove herself forward again. The beast's weight carried it past her, its momentum leaving its flank exposed.

She seized the opportunity.

Paimon sprang upward and struck.

Her gauntleted fist slammed into the Deseruit Beasts side with brutal force. The impact folded its body inward. Its feet left the ground, and its enormous frame was hurled sideways into the grass, where it landed with a heavy, jarring crash.

She was already moving before it hit.

Another Deseruit Beast came at her from the right, its long neck twisting unnaturally as it snapped at her shoulder. Paimon turned her body sideways, allowing the jaws to close behind her. She caught a glimpse of its teeth passing within inches of her body, then stepped inside its reach before it could draw back.

Her fist drove upward beneath its jaw.

The blow wrenched its head back. Before it could recover, she seized the creature by the side of its face and twisted with both hands. Its body lurched off balance, legs scrabbling uselessly against the ground as she forced it down.

The next beast was already upon her.

It came low, its thick body surging through the grass with a series of heavy strides. Paimon leapt over its snapping jaws, tucked her legs beneath her, and passed above its head. As she descended, she brought her heel down against the back of its skull.

The impact drove it into the earth.

She landed besides it, knees bending to absorb the force, and immediately turned towards the rest of the horde.

There was no pause to admire what she had done.

The Deseruit Beasts were still advancing, and several had begun to spread out, attempting to surround her. Their movements were aggressive, but they were not all mindless in the same way. Some watched her carefully. Others seemed to react to the energy she released with each movement, their attention fixed on her as though they could sense the strength packed into her small frame.

One of the taller beasts reared back.

Its chest expanded, and a strange vibration gathered around the ridges running down its spine. The air in front of it distorted. Then a wave of force burst outward, tearing a path through the grass as it rushed towards Paimon.

She saw the disturbance coming; she pushed off her left foot and darted diagonally across the creature's line of attack. The wave tore past her, catching the ground where she had stood and blasting soil into the air. Paimon used the moment the beast needed to recover to close the distance.

She ran straight at it.

The Deseruit Beast tried to bring one of its heavy limbs down across her path.

Paimon changed direction at the last instant, slipping beneath the descending limb. The impact struck the ground behind her, sending a tremor through the plain. She came up close against its body, planted both feet, and drove her shoulder into it.

The beast staggered.

She followed with a succession of savage blows, each strike delivered with enough force to make its massive frame buckle. When it tried to pull away, she caught hold of one of its protruding limbs and wrenched it off balance. Its body crashed sideways, and Paimon brought the encounter to an abrupt end with one final, crushing strike.

She did not look down for long.

Blood had begun to spatter across her armor and cloak. Some of it streaked along her gauntlets, and a few droplets marked her cheek.

Paimon did not seem to notice.

Or, if she did, it did not change her expression.

Her bright blue eyes remained focused on the beasts still standing and the horde pressed in.

Paimon met it head-on.

A broad-backed beast swung around behind her, its tail dragging a furrow through the grass before whipping towards her legs. Paimon caught the movement from the corner of her eye. She sprang upward just as the tail swept through the space where her feet had been, tucking her knees close as the heavy appendage passed beneath her.

The beast began turning to follow her.

She came down against its back.

Her boots struck its ridged hide, and she immediately drove forward, using the beast's own momentum to carry herself towards its neck. It bucked violently, trying to throw her off. Paimon lowered her centre of gravity, clamped one arm around a raised ridge, and held on as its body twisted beneath her.

When it jerked its head around, she released her grip.

For a brief instant, she was airborne besides it.

Then her gauntlet struck its face.

The beast's head snapped sideways, and its enormous body toppled into the grass. Paimon landed in a crouch, one hand braced against the ground. The impact left a shallow depression beneath her palm.

She rose at once.

A smaller Deseruit Beast darted towards her from the left, moving with startling speed. Its narrow body was covered in overlapping plates, and its forelimbs ended in hooked claws that scraped on the earth as it rushed in. She shifted her weight backwards, allowing its first slash to pass in front of her chest. She turned with the motion, caught its wrist-like limb, and pulled.

The beast's own momentum carried it past her.

Paimon stepped behind it and drove her fist into its back.

Its plated body struck the ground hard enough to scatter dirt and grass. Before it could rise, she seized it and hurled it away from her, sending it tumbling into the path of another approaching creature. The two collided in a tangle of limbs.

Paimon did not wait to see whether they could recover.

She was already charging the next target.

A Deseruit Beast with a thick, horned skull lowered its head and charged. Paimon waited until the last moment before shifting to the side. Its horns passed close enough to catch the edge of her cloak, but she had already moved beyond them. She planted one foot against the ground and caught the beast by one horn as it thundered past.

Her other hand seized the side of its head.

Then she hauled backwards.

The Deseruit Beasts charge ended abruptly. Its legs struggled for purchase, but Paimon held firm, forcing its head around until its balance failed. It crashed onto its side, shaking the ground beneath her boots.

She released it and struck.

The blow landed with a sickening impact, and it went still.

Paimon turned towards the remaining Deseruit Beasts.

They were beginning to hesitate.

It was not a retreat yet. Their attention remained fixed on her, and several continued to circle, looking for an opening. But the momentum that had carried them towards the three travelers was faltering. The bodies scattered across the grass had disrupted their advance, and the small figure standing among them had proven far more dangerous than her size suggested.

Paimon drew another breath.

Her chest rose and fell; the blood on her gauntlets had begun to spread across the metal, collecting in the creases. Her cloak was stained as well. There was dirt on her boots and a few strands of hair had come loose, but none of it seemed to bother her.

She looked towards the beasts still approaching as she moved again.

One of them opened its mouth, releasing a harsh, grinding cry. A pulse of energy gathered around its jaws, making the air shimmer. Paimon recognized the change and immediately broke into a run, angling away from its front.

The Deseruit Beast unleashed its attack as a concentrated burst tore across the plain. Paimon dropped low and accelerated beneath the edge of the blast. The force passed over her, ripping through the grass and leaving a long, scorched-looking scar across the ground behind her. She kept moving, her boots digging into the earth as she curved around the beast's flank.

It tried to turn, but she was already there.

Paimon drove a fist into its side, then struck again before it could regain its balance. The Deseruit Beast lurched away from her, its limbs stumbling over one another. She caught it by a thick appendage, pulled it back towards her, and slammed it into the ground.

The impact silenced it as another beast lunged from behind.

Paimon heard the rush of its movement and twisted aside. Its jaws snapped shut besides her shoulder. She stepped around its head, allowing the beast's momentum to carry it forward, then struck the base of its neck with the heel of her palm.

It staggered as she seized its head and forced it down, driving its face into the earth. The beast tried to wrench itself free, but she held it there long enough to deliver a final, decisive blow.

Then she released it.

The next attack came from above.

A heavy-bodied creature had reared up, its forelimbs raised high. It brought them down together, attempting to crush her beneath its weight. Paimon sprang backwards, and the limbs struck the ground with a thunderous impact. The earth split beneath them.

She landed just beyond their reach.

Before the beast could lift its limbs again, she surged forward, caught one of them with both hands, and pulled with a sharp, forceful twist. Its balance broke. Paimon stepped in and drove her shoulder into its chest, sending its towering body crashing backwards.

She followed it down; her gauntlet struck once, then again.

The Deseruit Beast stopped moving.

Paimon rose.

Blood stained her, it marked her cloak and dotted her cheek.

Yet her expression remained remarkably composed. There was no visible disgust or recoil at the sight of what she had done. She had fought, and the Deseruit Beasts had been dangerous. She seemed to have accepted the result easily.

Only after confirming that none of the beasts were still moving did she turn her attention back towards the yellow trees.

The sixty seconds had been more than enough.

"Vicious little thing," Echidna murmured beside Mikoto.

Her gaze remained fixed on Paimon in the distance, watching as the girl made her way back across the battered grassland. The Deseruit Beasts lay scattered behind her, their massive bodies surrounded by churned earth, broken vegetation, and the dust that had yet to settle completely.

Echidna's lips curved.

There was amusement in her voice, but also a measure of interest. Paimon had looked uncertain before the encounter, and her hesitation had been understandable. The beasts had been large, numerous, and dangerous enough that an ordinary person would have had little chance against them. Yet once she had committed herself, she had torn through the entire group easily.

Mikoto made a noise of agreement as he folded his armored arms across his chest.

His attention remained on Paimon.

("She didn't bother using her Null Schema. And she beat them effortlessly with just physical strength.")

Paimon had possessed the opportunity to reveal more of her abilities, particularly the power that had prompted his interest in her in the first place. Instead, she had relied on her physical prowess throughout the encounter. Whether that was because she preferred fighting that way, because she had not needed anything else, or because she was deliberately concealing the extent of her capabilities remained unclear.

Mikoto's red eyes followed her as she stepped around one of the fallen beasts.

("Hm. Maybe she doesn't want to show her hand too soon.")

He settled on that possibility, though he did not consider it confirmed. Paimon had been earnest about wanting to help, but earnestness did not mean she was incapable of keeping secrets. He had already learned that people could have their own reasons for accompanying him, and he had no intention of assuming that he understood hers simply because she seemed straightforward.

Echidna tilted her head slightly, studying him as he watched the approaching girl.

"But if mere physical prowess is all she has to offer, do you think she'll be any useful to this undertaking of yours?" Echidna pressed.

Mikoto did not take long to answer.

"None of you will be all that useful if we really face off against the dragons," he said. "I was always enough on my own."

There was no hesitation in the declaration.

Echidna regarded him for a moment.

Then the Mother of Monsters merely shook her head.

"You Angels have such hubris."